Long-term renters given 30 days to vacate Coffs Harbour unit blocks

TENANTS in 11 units at 6 and 8 San Francisco Avenue, Coffs Harbour have been given 30 days to vacate after the unit blocks were sold at auction in July for $2.95 million.

The units have provided long-term, low-rent accommodation for more than 20 years.

Questions are being asked as to why the new owners chose to issue the minimum 30-day period, leaving tenants with little time to secure alternative accommodation in the current housing climate.

First National Real Estate, which manages the properties, issued the termination notices on behalf of the new owners on 12 August, requiring tenants to vacate by 11 September.

Some have lived in the units for over a decade.

The blocks are zoned R3, which allows for medium-density housing, however no development application has been lodged at this time.

Tenants said they were told by agents the plan is to refurbish and re-let the units, likely at higher rents.

These older blocks form part of Coffs Harbour’s affordable rental stock.

Tenants currently paying $300 a week can now expect to pay at least $400 a week for similar accommodation.

While a lucky few have secured new homes, many tenants are seriously worried about the risk of being homeless come 11 September.

Some are already dipping into superannuation or relying on relatives.

Darcy, who works in youth support, is moving in with a family member but says it wasn’t a choice he would have made at this point in time.

“I’ve been living in the same unit for 11 years, so this is my home,” he said.

“I’ve done a lot of the gardens and even saved them money by doing some maintenance.

“It’s like a little family here – we help each other.”

Before the sale Darcy said the tenants felt they had secure tenure.

“There was a lot of trust,” he said.

“We knew they were never going to kick us out, so it came as a shock when we got the notice.”

‘Maree’, a tenant of seven years, is yet to find alternative accommodation.

She is very concerned about ending up homeless.

“I am so in trouble because I’ve got nowhere to go,” she said.

“It’s demoralising and unnecessary. We haven’t done anything wrong.

“You work all your life and pay your taxes and this comes out of the blue – and with no information,” she said.

Those who haven’t found new accommodation were reluctant to speak on the record, for fear of being added to a real estate agent rental ‘blacklist’ database, and missing out on future rentals.

While landlords are under no legal obligation to consider tenant hardship, housing advocates argue there is a moral duty to weigh tenant history, stability and housing availability.

Leo Patterson Ross, Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Tenants Union, is one such advocate.

“It’s so important that renting is a stable form of housing, and that we are careful about cutting people off from something so essential as their housing,” he said.

“While ‘no grounds’ eviction reforms have been a historic step forward in NSW we do need to think about what happens to people like these renters who have their housing taken away with such little notice and so few options.”

By Leigh WATSON